Regime artillery wounds four people in Khan Sheikhoun

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Four civilians were wounded Wednesday in fresh artillery fire by regime forces on rebel-held province of Idlib where Russia and Turkey agreed on a buffer zone in September,, activists said.

At least 45 artillery shells hit the town of Khan Sheikhoun, leaving huge destruction in the town.

The regime artillery has pounded most of rebel-held areas this week, pushing more than 10,000 people to flee their villages in the southern countryside of Idlib.

The deal to create the demilitarized zone, running along the contact line between rebels and regime territory, staved off an army offensive against Idlib.

Intermittent exchanges of fire have broken out in northwest Syria since the agreement between Russia, a key Bashar al-Assad's ally, and Turkey, which backs some rebel factions.

The United Nations says nearly 3 million people live in the northwest region and has warned against a battle to restore state rule there.

Tahrir al-Sham and other hardline groups have refused to pull out their fighters from Idlib despite the de-militarized zone which was announced by rebel backer Ankara and Moscow in September to separate regime troops from rebel fighters in Idlib and adjacent areas.

In relevant development, Tahrir al-Sham blew up several bridges linking between the towns of al-Ies and the regime-held town of al-Hadher to cut off supply routes.

Since the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011, more than 470,000 people have been killed, and more than 6 million people have been displaced.